Devices for storing and transporting men&#39;s pants or the like



June 28, 1966 E. M. MOPHERSON DEVICES FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING MENS PANTS OR THE LIKE Filed May 18, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l W n/v H\ Q M n i 3,. 1. #3 I 1\ K K M m INVENTOR EDW/A/ M Mc Pf/'RSO/V BY & W

A ORNEY I June 28, 1966 E. M. MCPHERSON DEVICES FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING MEN'S PANTS OR THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1964 lNVENTOR fbw/n/ M Mans 19950 BY k W ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 McPHERSQN 3,258,128

DEVICES FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING MEN'S PANTS OR THE LIKE Filed May 18, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR fbw/A/ AZ Mc Pf/APJO/V ATTORNEY June 28, 1966 MCPHERSQN 3,258,128

DEVICES FOR STORING AND TRANSPORTING MEN'S PANTS OR THE LIKE Filed May 18; 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l I ll IIHHHHI /7 I HI, IIHH I l I. w /0c H an MI INVENTOR BY Lapin/kw ATTORNEY 3 25s 12s DEVICES FOR sroaiNG AND TRANSPORTING MENS PANTS on THE LIKE Edwin M. McPherson, Baltimore, Md., assignor to .I.

Schoeneman, Incorporated, Baltimore, Md, :1 corporatron of Delaware Filed May is, 1964, sr. No. 368,161 8 Claims. (Cl. 211-133) My present invention relates in general to means for storing and transporting mens pants or articles of similar configuration, e.g., womens slacks and any other fiat flexilgle articles, especially of fabric, of generally trapezoidal s ape.

The principal object of the invention is to provide bins or the like in which the pants may be stored and transportedwith minimum chance of losing their press or becoming mussed.

A further object is to provide in combination with said A still further object is to provide easy means for locking the bins in the rack, and for unlocking same.

Other objects of my invention, and advantages thereof will be apparent hereinafter. For the best understanding of my invention, reference is now made to the following detailed description taken with the annexed drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in front elevation of an illustrative embodiment showing my improved bins of differing sizes disposed in my improved rack, a part only of the rack and bin combination being shown;

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation as seen from the right of FIGURE 1;

b FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective of an individual FIGURE 4 is a view in front elevation showing an alternative form of rack, such form being especially adapted for mobile use;

FIGURE 5 is a detail showing one manner in which bars of the rack are secured to uprights; and

FIGURE 6 is a view in side elevation of FIGURE 4, as seen from the right of FIGURE 4.

In the garment industry, the handling of mens pants, for example, from the time of finished manufacture to delivery to the retail salesroom, has presented many problems, among which may be mentioned the storage thereof without the pants becoming mussed or out-of-press, the difficulty of retrieval or picking individual pants without disturbing others in the same pile, together with problems specifically associated with the transportation of the pants from factory to salesroom.

In brief, I overcome these problems to a substantial degree by providing individual bins of generally scoop shape open at the top, and having both bottom and sides of generally trapezoidal shape, whereby the pants have the least tendency to move around and become entangled one with another and thereby getting out-of-press. This advantage is further insured by having the bins of varying sizes in order to fit given size ranges of pants, it being understood that before the pants are placed in the bin they 3,25%,l28 Patented June 28, I966 are doubled over end to end. Further, I have provided means for stacking the bins which will be economical of space in the storeroom while aifording easy access to individual bins and to individual articles in any given bin. Especially in the case of racks that are adapted for mobile use, I provide improved means for locking and unlocking the bins in the racks.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and to FIGURE 3 particularly, 10 denotes generally one form of individual bin having a bottom panel 11, side panels 12, 13 of generally trapezoidal shape with the opening or mouth of the bin at the wider of the parallel dimensions of the bottom 11. The bin further is provided with a back panel 14 of generally rectangular shape, preferably tilted backward slightly, it being noted that as shown, in addition to the bin narrowing from front to rear, the sides likewise narrow from front to rear. Further, the front of the bin is provided with a retaining lip 15, while handholes are conveniently provided as shown at 16, 17, 18, 19.

It will further be noted that the back 14 terminates downwardly below the bottom 11 in an inwardly curved portion 22, FIGURE 3, by means of which to grip the rack bars, as will be evident hereinafter, whereas the sides 12, 13, and the bottom 11 are provided with a groove 23 whose purpose likewise is to accomodate a rack bar, and thus be retained thereon. The bottom, back, sides, and lip of the bins may be associated in any suitable manner, as by welding, and may be equipped with corner pieces 25, as shown in FIGURE 3. Also, in lieu of providing the bottom It with an arcuate portion as at 23 for the accomodation of the rack bar, the sides 12, 13 may be extended below the bottom 11, and they alone contain a notch similar in size and function to whatis shown at 23. This latter construction is shown in the form of bin seen in FIGURE 6, which otherwise is similar in shape and function to the bin of FIGURE 3. In general, the groove 23 will be located at approximately the center of gravity of the loaded bin. In effect, then, I have a bin with the equivalent of a pair of notches, one at the rear end thereof, and the other intermediate said ends.

Reference may now be made particularly to FIG- URE'S 1 and 2 which show a form of rack which is of the non-mobile variety, and which is shown as secured both to the floor and ceiling of the room. The rack shown in these figures consists of standard piping and standard'fittings, the vertical piping being of diameter, and the horizontal piping of /z" diameter, these dimensions being of course, illustrative only. As shown, the crosswise horizontal courses of the piping at either end of the rack consist of short lengths 30 which are connected to upright or vertical courses consisting of short lengths 31 by means of standard couplings or fittings 32. At the bottom, the vertical courses terminate in pedestal fittings 33 of standard construction which may be secured to the floor, such fittings also being employed at the top of the rack and secured to the ceiling of the room. The purpose of the cross-horizontal and vertical pipe courses thus far described is to afford means forholding the lengthwise horizontal pipes or bars 35 upon which the tiers of bins are supported, said pipes 35 being secured in said fittings 32. Since the entire pipe assembly is locked together by the fittings 33 which are attached to both floor and ceiling, it is not necessary to screw-thread any or all of the pipes 30, 31 and 35 to their fittings. It

will be obvious, however, that if desired, some of the joints can be threadedly attached while others can be welded or soldered or left loose. FIGURE 2 shows best the disposition of the bars 35. Thus, the leftmost is located at slightly above floor level, and upon it the forward end of the bin 10' rests with the groove 23 engaging said bar. The rear end of said bin rests upon the next bar 35 to the right with its curved lip 22 engaging the same, thereby securing the bin against forward or backward movement. The next crossbar 35 above the floor is disposed at the righthand end of the rack, and it, and the crossbar immediately above it, similarly serve as the pair supporting the tier of bins facing the reverse way of the tier last mentioned. As shown, five tiers of bins are accommodated by the rack of FIGURE 2, all with the narrow rear ends of the bins raised above the wide mouthed front ends so as to compensate for the fact that the front ends of the pants have more layers than the rear ends, and hence are thicker and occupy more space. Thus when the rear end of the pants reaches the approximate level of the top of the rear end of the bin, the uppermost pair of pants will be approximately horizontal or somewhat thereabove, it being understood that as is customary, each garment is folded back on itself so that the cuff end of the pants approximately reaches the top or belt end thereof, and the folded pairs of pants comfortably fill each bin. It will be further observed that the rack of FIGURE 2 holds the several bins in nesting or intercalated fashion with three tiers opening to the left, and two at the right. Furthermore, as shown in FIGURE 1, different sizes of bin may compose one or more tiers.

I now come to a description of the rack according to FIGURES 4, and 6. Here the rack shown is adapted for mobility, and differs from that previously described by affording a closer nesting of the bins whereby each bin is disposed substantially entirely above another. The construction of the bins per se may be identical with that shown in FIGURES l and 2.

In the construction shown in FIGURES 4-6, the lowermost horizontal crossbars generally denoted 40, are of the same construction as that of FIGURE 2. The vertical bars however, are of somewhat different construction, with the front vertical bars 41, i.e., as seen in FIGURE 4, extending to a point immediately above the top of the lowermost tier of bins 100, whereas the second row of bars 42 extends immediately above the inside rear ends of the second tier of bins b, and the third row of vertical bars 43 extends above the inside rear ends of the third tier of bins 100. Finally, the fourth row of vertical bars 44 extends slightly above the top of the middle tier of bins 101) to afford support for crossbar 45 supporting the extreme rear of the bins 10c of the third tier. Bar 44 is desirably reinforced at the top thereof by crossbar 46 connecting same with bar 43. Similarly, crossbar 47 connects verticals 41 and 42 and crossbar 43 connects verticals 42 and 43. Inspection of FIGURE 6 will show that for each horizontal tier of bins I have supporting horizontal bars running from left to right of FIG- URE 4, i.e., front bar 49 engaged by the rear curved lip of bins 10a, and bar 50 parallel thereto engaged by the intermediate notch in said bins, whereas bar 51 parallel to bars 49, 50, not only is engaged by the intermediate notches of the bins 1% which it supports, but serves to lock bins 10a beneath it in place. Similarly, horizontal bars 52 and 53 serve respectively as supporting and locking bars for bins 10b, and bars 45 and 54 serve respectively as supporting and locking bars for bins 100, whereby the entire bin assembly is firmly locked in place.

For ready mounting and demounting of the front parallel bars and especially those used as locking bars, the construction shown in FIGURE 5 may be employed, wherein each of said bars is held in an open fitting 55 and prevented from easy sliding by means of a shim 56.

Therefore, either to mount or demount the bins, it is.

merely necessary to release the locking bars by urging same in either longitudinal direction against the friction maintained by the shims. Also, the entire rack is prefably removably contained upon a movable platform or carriage 57 consisting of a floor 58 and casters 59. To hold the rack upon the platform, short, open-ended tubes 60 secured to said fioor 58, FIGURE 6, are provided, which receive the lower ends of all the vertical pipes 41-44, which .are secured in place by means of cotter pins 61. For holding the removable locking bars 51, 53 and 54 when the rack is knocked down, U-shaped supports 62 secured to the bottom of floor 58 may be provided as shown in FIGURE 6.

The overall advantages of the mobile embodiment of FIGURES 4-6 will thus be apparent. The bins are properly loaded at the factory and placed usually in the racks of FIGURES 1 and 2. Then at the proper time selected of the loaded bins are transferred to the mobile racks of FIGURES 4-6, and the various locking bars slid into place as the rack is filled. The loaded rack may then be wheeled'into a van and transported directly to the retail salesroom where it may further be wheeled adjacent either the storage or display counters, and the contents removed. Preferably, filled bins are thereupon transferred to permanent racks of the type according to FIGURES 1 and 2. This having been done, the mobile rack may be knocked down and returned to its point of departure.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in my improved bins and racks without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims. For instance, advantage may be taken of the wedge shape of the bins to dispose them in a revoluble circular rack in which the supporting bars would be circular and concentric to one another.

I claim:

1. A bin for containing mens pants and the like, consisting of a bottom panel, two side panels, and a back panel, said bottom panel being substantially in the shape of a regular trapezoid with the front and back edges parallel and the front edge substantially longer than the back edge, the side panels joined to the bottom panel and to the back panel and also being of generally trapezoidal shape with the back edge shorter than the front edge, said bottom panel having a front lip acting to retain a pile of the pants in place.

2. The bin according to claim 1 further provided with a bar engaging means at the back thereof substantially parallel to the width of the bin, and a bar engaging means likewise substantially parallel thereto intermediate the ends of said bin whereby said bin may be supported upon a pair of substantially parallel bars.

3. The bin according to claim 2 in which one of said means includes a lip constituting substantially a downward extension of said back, said lip curving toward the front of the bin, and in which the other of said means consists of a groove disposed at the bottom of said bin.

4. In combination, a plurality of bins of generally scoop shape having bar-engaging means externally thereof, a rack therefor containing a pair of separated, horizontally extending bars disposed so as respectively to be engaged by said bar-engaging means and presenting a plurality of said bins forming a tier with the open ends thereof outwardly facing, said rack further having another pair of bars also disposed so as to hold a plurality of bins forming a tier with the open ends of the bins outwardly facing but in a direction approximately from the tier of bars first mentioned.

5. The combination according to claim 4 in which the group of said bins facing one way are of a different level from the group facing the opposite way and with the inner portion of the bins of one group being intercalated with those of the other.

6. The combination according to claim 5 in which the bar which holds the rear ends of one of said groups of References Cited by the Examiner zni i g ro p r id t li er e a firfe l di s to cfth ia zh e iri ialzi UNITED STATES PATENTS a z 7. The combination according to claim 6 having a 1,563,057 11/1925 Wllhams 211 134 bar substantially parallel with the bars already mentioned 5 3,018,003 1/1962 LOCkWOQd and disposed in close proximity to the topmost tier of 3,191,776 6/1965 Tokash 211-55 bins, whereby to lock all the bins in place.

8. The combination according to claim 5 in which the CLAUDE LE Prlmary Exammer' bins of one group are in respective alignment with those K. J. WINGERT, Assistant Examiner.

of the other. 

4. IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF BINS OF GENERALLY SCOOP SHAPE HAVING BAR-ENGAGING MEANS EXTERNALLY THEREOF, A RACK THEREFOR CONTAINING A PAIR OF SEPARATED, HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BARS DISPOSED SO AS RESPECTIVELY TO BE ENGAGED BY SAID BAR-ENGAGING MEANS AND PRESENTING A PLURALITY OF SAID BINS FORMING A TIER WITH THE OPEN ENDS THEREOF OUTWARDLY FACING, SAID RACK FURTHER HAVING ANOTHER PAIR OF BARS ALSO DISPOSED SO AS TO HOLD A PLURALITY OF BINS FORMING A TIER WITH THE OPEN ENDS OF THE BINS OUTWARDLY FACING BUT IN A DIRECTION APPROXIMATELY 180* FROM THE TIER OF BARS FIRST MENTIONED. 